EMD Lockout – You are invited

I would like to urge you to attend a mass rally in London, Ontario, this Saturday at 11:00 am.

As I mentioned at Monday’s General Membership Meeting, 450 CAW members at the EMD-Caterpillar plant in London have been locked out of their plant because they refused to agree to 50% wage and benefit cuts. Caterpillar is one of the most profitable corporations in the world, earning nearly 43 billion dollars in 2010. In the same year, the CEO earned 22 million dollars while the top six executive officers earned 67 million. The amount of annual savings that Caterpillar wants from the workers is 30 million dollars. Many believe that if the workers do not accept Caterpillar’s terms then they will move the plant to Munice, Indiana, where a facility is now being built.

Rally is being organized by the Ontario Federation of Labour and they are asking members to bring old boots and hand-made signs. The boots will be hanged on the security gate that surrounds the plant.

The rally will be at Victoria Park in London (Wellington Street and Dufferin Avenue) at 11:00 am. Hamilton and District Labour Council are sending three buses to the rally. If you are interested in catching a ride with them, call the CAW office. I believe the buses will be leaving on Saturday at 8:00 am. Contact the office for details. The EMD plant is located at 2021 Oxford Street East, London.

This is the official web site of the Save Century Manor Task Force 2 (CMTF2). This task force was created not only to draw attention to the existence of Century Manor, an important Hamilton heritage building in danger of demolition by neglect, but also to provide information on Century Manor and to gain support within and outside our community for our ongoing fight to save and preserve this heritage building through restoration and adaptive reuse.